Can George really go upmarket - with or without Coleen?

This is all part of a move to inject some life into the brand following a number of years when its management freely admits it has been losing ground to other price-focused clothing retailers and rival supermarkets.

It also fits in with the Asda strategy of pushing George slightly more upmarket and names such as Joanna Lumley and Sienna Miller are

reportedly in the frame as replacements for Coleen.

It is all rather strange therefore that Coleen's people are of the view that the non-renewal of her two-year contract was because of Asda's desire to attract more 'thirtysomethings' to the brand. No mention of her image being too downmarket for the Asda clothing brand then. One wonders where her next stop could be and which more salt-of-the-earth brands her face is better suited.

It is always a potential minefield selecting the right face for brands so it will be interesting to see who Asda ultimately selects as its replacement for Coleen. But more important is how effective they are at pulling in more upmarket punters, which cannot be a particularly easy task when Asda enjoys promoting entire wardrobes for less than a fiver (including the wardrobe).